WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2021 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, Stacy Dean and USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Administrator Cindy Long yesterday hosted a virtual listening session with 19 school food industry executives to discuss their critical role in strengthening access to nutritious foods for school meals programs, now and into the future.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2021 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $272 million to modernize rural drinking water and wastewater infrastructure (PDF, 280 KB) for 270,000 people living in rural communities across 37 states and Puerto Rico.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2021 – During a visit to Riverdale Elementary in Riverdale, Maryland today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is joining with students, parents, schools, communities, and partners across the nation in recognition of National School Lunch Week, as proclaimed by President Biden.

WASHINGTON, October 12, 2021 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement after the successful confirmation of Xochitl Torres Small to serve as Under Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2021 – Following a press release from President Joe Biden announcing the appointment of several regional appointments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the appointments of five Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Directors and seven Rural Development (RD) State Directors.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 7, 2021 – Tomorrow, October 8, President Biden will take action to restore protections to three national monuments that had been dismantled by the previous administration. The President will sign the new proclamations to reestablish the boundaries in place before President Trump’s unprecedented action to drastically reduce the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, and restore management conditions to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh announced today a $12 million investment to Hispanic-serving Institutions of higher education. This announcement was part of a launch of the first in a series of virtual roundtable engagement sessions with Minority-serving Institutions and Land-grant Universities serving underrepresented students.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 7, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a trio of awards totaling nearly $25 million in grants and cooperative agreements intended to ensure broader access and participation in USDA programs and services for historically underserved farmers and ranchers.

WASHINGTON, October 7, 2021 – Today, as part of President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to confronting the climate crisis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its climate adaptation and resilience plan (PDF, 813 KB) describing how USDA will prepare for current and future impacts of climate change.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2021 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today an investment of more than $146 million in sustainable agricultural research projects aimed at improving a robust, resilient, climate-smart food and agricultural system.